It’s no secret that the air we breathe indoors is lacking in quality. The latest in a trend of solutions for this problem, Osgène takes inspiration from the most well known form of oxygen generators: plant life! The aerobic appliance not only mimics the aesthetic form of a plant pre-bloom but the process as well. Utilizing carbon-doxide scrubbers and artificial photosynthesis, it inhales CO2 in the air we breathe and returns purified oxygen to create a more balanced, healthy interior air environment.
Matt Shlian est un ingénieur du papier, un spécialiste du pliage qui manie les formes complexes, les reliefs avec beaucoup de précision et de créativité. Une sélection de ses incroyables travaux, semblables à de véritables sculptures aux inspirations multiples sont à découvrir dans la suite.
Les vases Experimenta sont une interprétation délicate de la lampe à pétrole du 18 et 19ème siècle. Avec des formes et tailles différentes, ces vases revisités sont composés d’un conteneur à eau, de cloches en verre collectées sur de vieilles lampes ainsi que du matériel nécessaire à la stabilité de l’objet. Des créations à mi-chemin entre sciences et curiosités signées Giuseppe Bessero.
Eight glass-walled gardens offer views of greenery to the occupants of this minimally furnished house in Cuernavaca, Mexico, by architecture firm Goko (+ slideshow).
The open-air spaces that give the project its name, House of Eight Gardens, were incorporated into the design by Mexico City-based Goko to enable daylight to illuminate the interior, as well to introduce elements of nature.
“Our goal was to create a house and relaxing experience of absolute rest, and to contribute to a better environment improving life quality,” said the architects in a statement.
An existing tree on the plot prompted the design team to develop a proposal where each of the living areas and bedrooms look out onto a different landscaped space.
“Although our architecture plays a fundamental role on the house, it is through the insertion of spaces for contemplation of nature that we achieve one true experience,” the architects said.
At the centre of the property is a small pond enclosed by glass that allows views towards a tabachín tree – a small species common in the American tropics – from the surrounding rooms.
The rest of the interior spaces emanate from this locus, with rooms arranged around the periphery opening onto other courtyards containing a variety of trees and ferns.
A large garden at the rear of the house can be accessed from the main living area and a smaller family room, which both open onto a terrace sheltered by the overhanging roof.
A small pool flanked by a row of stepping stones is located at one end of the garden and the master bedroom is situated in a wing at the opposite end.
The master bedroom is bordered on two sides by a secluded bougainvillaea garden, behind which is an en-suite incorporating small green courtyards.
An orchard garden is positioned next to the property’s entrance, while a plant-lined passage along one edge of the plot provides direct access to the garden at the rear.
Travertine marble was used for flooring and walls throughout the interior to provide a sense of warmth and texture, with simple white walls helping to maximise the effect of sunlight that filters through pergola-like cross beams.
Next up in our alphabetical look at the history of chair design – the lightweight Handkerchief office chair designed by husband and wife team Massimo and Lella Vignelli in 1983.
The Vignellis designed the Handkerchief chair for American furniture label Knoll, which they had been collaborating with since being approached to oversee a redesign of the firm’s corporate identity in 1968.
The chair is the result of a five-year development process, during which the Vignellis experimented with compression-moulded plastic to find the optimum way to achieve a visually light yet robust shell.
Its gently rippling form is intended to follow the contours of the body and, according to Knoll, manages to capture “the lightness and organic ease of a handkerchief drifting in the wind”.
Handkerchief chair with arms
A slender metal frame supports the fibreglass-reinforced polyester seat and backrest, which is available in a range of five colours.
The chair is designed primarily for use in offices and can be stacked when not in use to save space.
Massimo and Lella Vignelli were both born in Italy and married in 1957 before setting up their first studio in Milan. In 1965 they moved to Chicago and founded a company called Unimark International that specialised in corporate graphics and branding.
The duo gradually diversified into three-dimensional design, claiming that designers should be capable of creating anything “from a spoon to a city” and became known for their aesthetically refined and function-led products.
The Handkerchief is one of the Vignellis’ most enduring product designs and was recently included in the exhibition Designing Modern Women 1890–1990 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Après son projet What do you hyde?, la photographe argentine Romina Ressia a voulu jouer avec des motifs anachroniques dans plusieurs séries de portraits s’inspirant des peintures de la Renaissance. Ses séries « Renaissance Brushstrokes », « Renaissance Cubism » et « How would have been? » mélangent des éléments et des concepts modernes avec des étoffes et costumes classiques du XVIème siècle.
The 9,200-square-metre Antoine de St Exupéry Home for Dependent Elderly People has 160 elderly residents, who all require nursing care.
The private and communal areas of the complex are divided up between two long blocks, each comprising a chain of nine connected volumes.
Residents’ bedrooms are housed in four-storey-high gabled buildings, joined by low-rise glazed blocks that contain cafeterias, treatment rooms and lounging areas.
The two blocks follow similar layouts and are connected by a glazed walkway. The regimented organisation of the plan was designed to be clear to the 24 Alzheimers patients among the residents, as well as to mirror the neighbouring properties.
“The volumes are intentionally simple in order to reflect those of the surrounding suburban fabric,” said the architects.
En-suite bedrooms are clustered around a centrally located staircase and elevator core in each block. The open stairwell, surrounded by metal railings, affords residents views into the communal lower storeys and gardens.
“The service spaces are distributed along the main circulation areas to ensure that the establishment runs efficiently and that the nursing staff enjoy an effective working tool,” said the architects.
Each window in the gabled living quarters features a hinged shutter that slides upwards to form a horizontal shade, and down to completely conceal the windows and offer privacy.
The shutters are coated in the same grooved cladding as the facades to give a uniform appearance.
Inside, the windows and doors have black aluminium frames. Neon tube lighting lines the upper lintels.
Communal areas feature wide expanses of glazing, which open out to decked terraces with integrated seating. A black metal framework that angles over the patios can be used to enclose the space.
The architects also designed a new road infrastructure to service the blocks, ensuring ease of access for nursing staff and visitors.
“A major road shaped all thinking for the building’s design, offering residents an augmented human presence thanks to greater nursing-staff availability,” they said.
Pour rappeler l’importance des bonnes manières à table, la designer hollandaise Marleen Jansen a conçu la « Courtesytable » : une table ludique, avec deux sièges en forme de balançoire à bascule qui contraint les utilisateurs à rester à table tant que l’autre n’a pas décidé de se lever, sinon c’est la chute. A découvrir.
Pour sa dernière série, le photographe allemand Heiko Tiemann nous invite dans une école pour enfants ayant des troubles d’apprentissage. Grâce à ses images poignantes, il cherche à donner à ses sujets une voix dans une société où ils sont confrontés à la négligence et l’incompréhension. A découvrir en images dans la suite de l’article.
Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects has redesigned Santa Monica’s bus shelters by developing a modular kit of parts that can be used to build an assortment of round blue canopies, supported on slender poles (+ slideshow).
Los Angeles-based Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) was commissioned by the city council to address the bus network’s reputation as “an undesirable method of transport” by creating new attractive shelters that can be easily adapted to suit every stop.
Comprising overlapping circular canopies that sit atop narrow poles, the Big Blue Bus Shelters were designed as a more flexible take on traditional shelters. They are accompanied by fixed stools with the same round shape.
“When we reached a pole-and-disc solution, a modular kit of parts became an obvious way to address the provision of shade in over 360 locations, each with unique site constraints” O’Herlihy told Dezeen. “This flexibility has been key.”
Using this modular design, the firm was able to create a series of shelters that both avoid subterranean services and adhere to government disability requirements. The canopies also take account of the angle of the sun to maximise shading.
“While conducting research, we were struck by the amount of people we witnessed standing by light poles or nearby utility boxes even though a conventional shelter was only a few feet away. It became clear that the conventional mail-order bus shelter was not necessary in the sunny California climate,” added the architect.
“It was also requested that the new shelters be impervious to vandalism and loitering, and provide maximum visibility to surrounding businesses,” he added.
The team see the structures as a model for sustainable urban development. They were all constructed with reclaimed and locally available materials – mostly steel – to lower the cost per unit.
Ensuring ease of maintenance, the shelters are connected to alternate power sources and feature high-efficiency LED light fixtures.
Each one also utilises GPS technology to provide passengers with real-time information on the location and approximate arrival time of buses. These details appear on independently standing consoles, known as Rider Information Displays.
Bruce Mau Design worked with the firm to design a graphic identity for the project.
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